Happy Valentine's Day!

I love how the ribbon roses echo the frosting on the cupcakes :)

Hope you all have a lovely and sweet Valentine's Day tomorrow. I had an early celebration with my family and with James this past weekend. I ended up making a different variation of my favorite red velvet cupcakes recipe. The only difference is that I used 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder instead of 2 teaspoons. This made the cupcakes less red but a lot more chocolaty :)

Red Velvet Cupcakes (makes about 18 cupcakes)

Recipe adapted from Sylvia's Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients

2½ cups sifted cake flour

2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk, at room temperature
1 ounce red food coloring
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two standard 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners; set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 

In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure they are well combined after each addition. On low speed, add the flour mixture in two parts, alternating with the buttermilk (starting and ending with the flour mixture). Add the food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is evenly combined.

Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full. (I like using an ice cream scoop for this. It makes it a lot faster and easier to divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.) Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. They’re done when a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer pans to wire rack and let them cool for about 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the pans and let them cool completely on the wire rack before topping them with the frosting.

Cupcakes can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Let them get to room temperature (about 20-30 minutes) before serving them.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe adapted from Sylvia's Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract on medium speed until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the confectioners' sugar and beat until the frosting is smooth.